UPDATED, 3:47 p.m., with comments from Idaho Democratic Party.
In a fundraising email Friday, state Democratic Party chair Lauren Necochea said Idaho is disinvesting in schools.
And she cited some on-the-ground examples — but, notably, omitted one.
“As summer begins, parents are already thinking about the classrooms their children will return to this fall. Idaho is giving them reason to worry,” Necochea wrote. “The state ranks last in the nation for per-student investment, and districts are cutting ahead of next year.”
Necochea pointed to two districts that are cutting staff. Pocatello is eliminating a dozen teaching positions and four counseling clerk positions, as a result of a $1.3 million decrease in state funding. After voters rejected a supplemental levy in May, Middleton is eliminating 36 positions, among other cost-cutting measures.
EdNews wrote about Middleton’s cuts earlier this week, in a statewide roundup on local school budgeting decisions. The article also outlined a net loss of positions in Boise. The Boise district is adding two dozen jobs, mostly special education teachers and paraprofessionals. However, the district is cutting 41 jobs, including 31 teaching positions.
Necochea’s husband, Alejandro Necochea, is a Boise school trustee, seeking re-election in September.
Democrats used a May 29 EdNews article, which did not mention the Boise cuts, to research their fundraising piece, party spokeswoman Avery Roberts said Friday. The fundraising piece was written before Wednesday, when EdNews reported on the Boise cuts, Roberts said.
